John Harvey 
Cold Light 
(Resnick 6)

 »Forty-eight hours, that »s what they reckon, isn »t it? Forty-eight hours. If you don »t find them in that, likely they »re sodding dead… »
A cabbie »s just been beaten up, there »s a drunk and disorderly in the interview room and a possible child abuser on the way in. Nothing unusual there, then, just a pretty normal Christmas holiday for DI Resnick and his team.
Normal, that is, until Dana Matthieson calls to report her flatmate, Nancy, missing.
Dana »s had a pretty grim Christmas herself: she »s been sexually harassed by her boss, and may even have lost her job as well as her friend. Pretty soon the police have proof that Nancy was kidnapped, and then – as the New Year celebrations wind down – the first tape arrives, and Resnick knows they »re dealing with a dangerous psychopath.